Austria’s far-right Freedom Party is heading for an unprecedented general election victory under leader Herbert Kickl, projections say.
The projections, based on initial results, give Kickl’s party 29.1% – almost three points ahead of the conservative People’s Party on 26.2%, but far short of a majority.
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been in coalition before, but the second-placed conservative People’s Party has refused to take part in a government led by him.
Kickl’s main rival, incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the People Party (ÖVP), has said it’s “impossible to form a government with someone who adores conspiracy theories”.
Some 6.3 million Austrians were eligible to vote in a race dominated by the twin issues of migration and asylum, as well as inflation and the war in Ukraine.
Kickl has promised Austrians to build “Fortress Austria”, to restore their security, prosperity and peace. He has also spoke of becoming Volkskanzler (people’s chancellor) which for some Austrians carries echoes of the term used to describe Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.
